Joumato Month 2017
by Angel Weasel-Woman
Summary: A series of drabbles for Joumato month. Day 4: Favorite Moment. Joe collapsed in the tiny boiler room, too tired to even grab the threadbare scrap of fabric that passed for his blanket.
1. Love

Joe yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. The fire crackled, waves of heat and warmth pushing back the darkness of the digital world. Gomamon snored next to him, and Joe snorted.

"Some guard," he mumbled, laying a hand on the bristly orange mo hawk. Gomamon mumbled something, curling into a tight little ball. As sleepy as the Digimon was, Joe knew he would wake up in a heartbeat should some crazy monster bust out of the bushes.

His eyes itched and he rubbed at them under his glasses. Grit was collecting from sleeping on the ground for so long, and he couldn't wait until they ran into another stream or lake or something at all to wash up in.

He stretched his fingers and rolled his wrists, trying to keep moving without falling asleep. He always volunteered for the last watch shift, trying to let the younger kids get as much rest as they could. As the oldest, it was his responsibility to make sure they all got home safe.

If they ever got home...

Joe pulled his knees to his chest, bowing his head. He couldn't keep thinking like that. He couldn't keep second guessing everything. They were going to get home – they _had_ to!

A soft touch fell on his shoulder and Joe nearly leapt out of his skin, whipping around to face whatever creature had snuck up on him. A hand slapped over his mouth to keep him from yelping and waking everyone else up, and Matt's blue eyes were dancing with laughter.

Beside him, Gomamon continued to snore.

Joe snorted into Matt's palm, thinking and mentally rolling his eyes as hard as he could, _Some guard..._

As soon as Matt realized Joe wasn't about freak out and alarm the other sleeping Children, he let go of the older boy and sank to his knees beside him.

"Hey – didn't mean to scare you," Matt whispered apologetically.

"It's fine," Joe said, waving the blonde off and trying to slow his racing heart. It made sense that Gomamon would lay undisturbed – what danger could Matt pose in the dead of night? "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Matt waved right back at Joe with a flippant smirk. "You know I don't sleep more than twenty hours a week. And besides, it looked like you could use some actual company."

Joe nudged the white lump with the tip of his shoe, smiling as the digital seal just flopped on his side. Did he really want to send Matt back to sleep? Or did he want to spend the night under the stars, talking until dawn with a beautiful blonde?

"I would love some company."

Gomamon cracked one eye open and bit back a smile, rolling over in his "sleep" to give the two blushing boys what little privacy he could.

* * *

A/N: Hooray~ It's officially Joumato month and I intend to write every prompt with every bonus condition~

If anyone here wants to participate, the official tumblr is just joumatomonth . tumblr . com You can submit straight to it, or just blog with the tag #joumatomonth

And, you know... Hey to all my old Digimon readers (if any of you actually came back ^^;;;;;)

So, I realized I said I'd be back to posting headcannon, like, over a year ago and then just straight up disappeared off the face of the internet. Hear me out guys - the computer I was writing to completely and utterly crashed. It took out all my writing, all my drawings, all my lists and notes and _everything_ I had for Digimon V and I just kinda spiraled into a depression that prevented me from doing anything creative whatsoever. I only recently got back into the swing of things, and only _just_ got back into Digimon in general.

The amazingly good news, however, is that while my husband was randomly going through the documents on her laptop, we discovered that she apparently made a huge backup of all my Digimon fics from before the computer crash! So I barely lost anything! (Which makes my year-long depression feel like a silly tantrum u.u;;) It'll take me a while, but I do swear I intend to finish Digimon V! There's far, _far_ more that we want to do with the Digidestined and their children!


	2. Role Reversal

Joe buried his face in Gomamon's side, sniffling. Tai and Shin were fighting again, arguing over whether or not to climb the mountain. The seven-year-old hated the fighting, hated all the noise, hated all the memories it brought back. The small seal wriggled, pressing against his Tamer. He wanted to protect Joe, but there didn't seem to be any real threat.

Matt clutched at the strap of the emergency bag the camp had supplied him. He bit his lip and shifted from foot to foot. As the oldest, he knew he had to stop the fighting, but he wasn't sure he knew how. Gabumon stood just as uneasily beside him, trying to hide deep in his own furs.

"We don't know what's up there," Shin insisted. "You're going to get us all killed, Tai!"

"Up there, we can see the whole island – we'll be _safer_!" Tai glared.

Shin shoved Tai first, the brunette stumbling back a step. He growled and flung himself at his classmate, fists already flying. Joe sobbed into Gomamon's fur as Matt ran forward to separate the two.

* * *

A/N: Soo~ I kinda got distraced what with being sick and all x.X;;; But don't worry, I'm going to catch up with a massive post influx!


	3. Bonus - The Titanic

Joe wished desperately to adjust his collar. But with his father sitting so close, he didn't want to so much as breathe improperly. He risked flicking his eyes outside the car, looking at the grand ship that blocked out the sun.

The Titanic.

It would bring him to America.

No.

It would bring the Kido name to America.

Whether in Japan or in America, his father didn't care about _him_. Just what his name meant.

Joe bit his tongue harshly, trying to distract himself. He wished desperately that something would happen. Something that would keep him from living the rest of his life under his father's thumb.

* * *

Matt carried TK on his hip, showing their tickets even as the young boy practically slept on his shoulder. He'd been so very lucky, finding the tickets in his mother's room. As she lay there, completely unaware, he'd snatched his little brother up and ran as fast as he could.

He was glad that, so far, no one had noticed her blood still under his nails.

He settled TK into their room, shared with a brunette and his sister that he'd glared at every time they tried to talk to him. He wanted nothing more than to go to America, start a new life for him and TK.

One free of pain.


	4. Favorite Moment

Joe collapsed in the tiny boiler room, too tired to even grab the threadbare scrap of fabric that passed for his blanket. He placed a hand on his stomach, wondering how long it had been since he'd last eaten enough to cease the constant rumbling.

Gomamon was already asleep next to him, curled up tight and trying to conserve the energy required to stay in Rookie form. His fur was a grungy gray, his bright mo hawk dulled and limp.

Joe removed his glasses, placing them carefully on the ledge of their tiny window. It did nothing to let out the heat the boiler put out, and they could only see a tiny sliver of sky through the bars. It felt just like home, with a tyrannical monster constantly screaming at him and never able to do anything right.

He closed his eyes with a deep sigh. Maybe he'd pass out quickly tonight.

He barely moved when the door opened. Even better, maybe whatever Digimon had wandered in tonight would eat him and end his misery.

A heavy weight flopped next to him, rolling into his side. The faint smell of "Matt", buried under weeks of dirty dishes and hot stoves, reached Joe and he smiled. With what little strength he had left, he rolled onto his side, gently cradling the blonde.

Despite everything else, these were his favorite moments.


End file.
